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True Value launches a Facebook web series chronicling the progress of its three DIY contest winners.

Thick black paint spattered over walls. A mysterious shrine. Overgrown hedges crawling with the unknown. Dingy wallpaper. Brown carpeting c. 1970. These are just a few of the design nightmares plaguing the homeowners starring in True Value Hardware’s new web-based series, “DIY True Value Stories”. Over the course of three months, three DIYers will chronicle their home renovations on the company’s Facebook page.

True Value, one of the leading home improvement and hardware retailers, solicited submissions of DIY projects last July. Judges then evaluated the winners based on a 25-point rating system that included such criteria as demonstration of need, adherence to assignment, and creativity in presentation. Three winners were selected from over 150 entries. The prize: $2,500 toward each DIY project plus advice from local True Value experts.

As gracious winner Chris Marcum puts it, “We’re glad our submission was bad enough to be chosen.” He and his wife Julia (a natural on camera), and toddler Greta, moved into their Spanish Fork, UT home in April. Their plan is to turn a scary teenager’s basement bedroom into a guest room/office. The Marcums’ biggest challenges are to remove heavy black spatter paint and grungy carpet, create a safe window fire exit, install more efficient lighting, and provide functional storage. Julia already envisions wood laminate flooring, recessed lighting, and little details like a guest amenity basket.

Kylee and Jim Boutchia from Taylors, SC are focusing their DIY energies on the exterior of their home. Their one-story ranch home, situated at the bottom of a gently sloping hill with patchy grass damaged by inadequate drainage, sadly lacks curb appeal. A wonky mailbox marks the house, yet shapeless mounds of bushes obscure the entrance and make pulling out of the driveway hazardous. “It’s not that we don’t own pruning shears,” says Kylee, “but these require more than just a haircut.” The Boutchias’ yard update will include landscaping and the creation of an inviting walkway leading to the front door. In addition, their adorable children are campaigning for a new sandbox.

Both the Marcum’s and Boutchia’s have already posted videos documenting their DIY challenge, as well as their first trip to True Value. Gwen and Steve Brion, the third winning family, will launch their video tomorrow. The Brions—who live in an 1860 Liberty, PA home—want to transform an old playroom into a reading and study lounge for their growing kids. Their project will include removing wallpaper, repairing ceiling tiles, and painting.

The featured “DIY True Value Stories” cover many different areas of the home improvement world. New videos will be posted to the Facebook page almost weekly, and all projects will come to a much-awaited close in December. Stay tuned for a whole lot of ripping, sanding, stripping, and trimming!

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